What is happening is clear, the max exodus is upon us. Stars are leaving the small markets that drafted them for the big cities. We can blame them, and we do, but would want to be a Timberwolve your entire career, slowly decaying as seasons with no shot at winning a title blur together?The National Basketball Association is the league with the with the least amount of parody amongst it's champions and knowledge does not escape players. Whether or not you believe in heavy handed reffing or not, the banners don't lie. Every championship banner since 1980 hangs in either Boston, LA, Chicago, Detroit or San Antonio (the small market exceptions) with the exception of 4. The Houston Rockets have 2, Philadelphia has 1 from the early 80's, and Miami has 1.
Is it cynicism of statistics that lead me to believe that I may never see Utah, Portland or Minnesota win a championship in the next 30 years or more? We see friends wanting to play together, but we forget the underlying fact that what we are really seeing is the best players banding together to win. LeBron and Daniel "Boobie" Gibson were great friends, but LeBron didn't ask Gibson to come with him to South Beach because he is not a perennial All-Star. We see Miami and the Knicks as free agents and free agents to be who are demanding trades, coming together to form teams. But the Celtics and Lakers were constructed by their front offices. Whether player or GM led, their is an arms race in the NBA. (Boston was really the first super team, not Miami. We seem to forget Boston because they are a bit older and came together in ways other than simply free agency).
We act surprised that players are following their self interest, so where do we turn cast blame? Like a good recent academic versed in Capitalist critique I turn to the system. But I must stop myself for quick moment and quickly backtrack to say that the way NBA contracts are set up is not inherently evil, but rather flawed. To truly understand how teams in the NBA are constructed, one must know the cap as well as the CBA as if it were second nature, a skill I do not possess. I can only point to the goal and leave the path to someone better versed than me.
I believe that what the stars are doing now is, as Charles Barkley phrased it, "killing the Golden Goose." If the league were to become too heavy, an annual six horse race that we all know in hearts to be a two horse race, interest would wane. Of course we would all tune in for the second half of the playoffs, but interest in the regular season and attendance in the smaller markets would fall each year. As time went on the health of the league would suffer and the ability for all those huge contracts would falter.
I do have to acknowledge the counterpoint that the league has been historically healthy despite the lack of parody, but to believe this will continue is a dangerous game. The flight of stars to bigger markets has never been so apparent in the consciousness of the fan, and as the economy has turned down the talk of contraction of teams and the lowering salary caps has grown. This is by no meas the downfall of the NBA, but rather symptoms of of issues that could hamper health of the Association.
People have suggested hard salary caps, as most winning teams in big markets currently pay luxury taxes, while other have called for the ability for teams to put a franchise tag on a player like in the NFL. All I know is that I am tired of watching teams with with 3 All-Stars play teams with none.
